Notes Class 12 Chapter 2 Sociology Maharashtra Board

Segments of Indian Society

Introduction

Indian society is broadly divided into Tribal, Rural, and Urban communities based on geographical differences and socio-cultural features. These segments interact continuously, influencing each other’s development and challenges. Tribal communities are marked by distinct culture, language, and isolation, often considered socio-economically backward. Rural and urban communities differ in physical environment, population density, economic activities, and cultural norms. Urban areas focus on non-agricultural sectors like industries and services.

2.1 Tribal Community in India

Definitions of Tribe

• Andre Béteille: A tribe is a society with clear linguistic and political boundaries, imposing “regular determinate ways of acting” on members, with less-defined cultural boundaries framing mores and interactions.
• L.M. Lewis: Tribal societies are small-scale, with restricted social, legal, and political relations, and possess corresponding morality, religion, and worldview.
• Ralph Linton: A tribe is a group of bands occupying contiguous territory, unified by cultural similarities, frequent contacts, and shared interests.
• Bhoumik Deshmukh: The term “adivasi” is an umbrella for heterogeneous ethnic/tribal groups, believed to be India’s aboriginal population, forming a substantial minority.
• David Hardiman: Adivasis are groups with a collective identity shaped by shared experiences under colonial rule in the 19th century.

Constitutional Definition

• Article 366(25): Defines Scheduled Tribes as communities protected under Article 342, declared by the President with:
  • Primitive traits
  • Geographic isolation
  • Distinct culture
  • Shyness of contact with larger communities
  • Economic backwardness
• Criteria for Scheduled Tribes:
  • Distinct, primitive language, religion, and culture
  • Isolated existence, minimal assimilation with other communities
  • Extreme educational and economic backwardness

Geographical Distribution

• L.P. Vidyarthi (1977): Five-fold classification based on ecological, social, economic, administrative, ethnic, and racial factors:
  • Central India: Gond, Bhil (e.g., Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh)
  • Western India: Warli, Malhar Koli (e.g., Maharashtra, Gujarat)
  • Southern India: Toda, Irula (e.g., Tamil Nadu, Kerala)
  • Eastern India: Santal, Munda (e.g., Odisha, Jharkhand)
  • North-Eastern India: Naga, Mizo, Khasi (e.g., Assam, Meghalaya)
• Over 55% of India’s tribal population resides in Central India.

Characteristics of Tribal Communities

1. Geographical Isolation: Live in remote forests/hills in clusters (padas), though some have migrated to rural/urban areas.
2. Economic Life: Engaged in hunting, fishing, forest produce gathering, basket making, weaving, and shifting cultivation. Rudimentary technology leads to low productivity, poverty, and reliance on barter systems.
3. Sense of Identity: Strong community cohesion with distinct names (e.g., Warli, Gond), tied to territorial boundaries.
4. Endogamous Group: Marriage within the tribe is the norm, though inter-tribal marriages are increasing due to mobility.
5. Distinctive Culture and Language: Unique traditions, folklore, and dialects; regional languages used for external communication.
6. Simple Society: Social relationships based on family/kinship, with minimal social stratification and faith in natural phenomena.
7. Simple Religion: Practice animism (ancestor worship), animatism (non-living objects), totemism (animal/tree ancestors), naturism (nature elements like Sun, rivers), and manaism (spiritual forces). Sacred groves are integral.
8. Community Administration: Managed by tribal panchayats, chiefs, and councils of elders, though traditional authority is weakening.
9. Clan Organization: Exogamous clans trace descent from a common ancestor, strengthening kinship bonds.
10. Egalitarian Values: Lack of rigid hierarchies like caste; chiefs may have higher status but equality prevails.

Tribal Cultural Practices

• Sacred Groves: Forest tracts dedicated to local deities (e.g., Shedoba, Waghoba in Maharashtra), believed to protect villages and conserve biodiversity. Worship links people to fields and forests.
• Sun Worship: Sun is revered as the primordial energy source, essential for agriculture and health.
• Tiger God Worship: Prominent in Maharashtra (e.g., Warli, Malhar Koli), symbolizing forest protection and regeneration.
• Warli Kambad Dance: Performed by Warli men to honor Kansari Devi (goddess of food grains), linked to a legend about preventing food wastage.

Reasons for Tribal Exploitation

1. British exploitation of mineral-rich tribal lands.
2. Missionary contact causing identity crises.
3. Entry of medical professionals/vendors alienating tribals from traditional medicine.
4. Development of transport/communication facilitating outsider entry.
5. Displacement due to industrial projects, dams, and highways.

Problems Faced by Tribal Communities

1. Alienation from Forest Land: Outsiders (British, moneylenders, industries) exploit forest resources, disrupting tribal livelihoods. 5.06 lakh cases of land alienation reported (2007-08).
2. Poverty and Indebtedness: Low-income occupations lead to poverty; tribals mortgage/sell land to repay debts.
3. Health and Nutrition: Malnutrition, waterborne diseases, and high infant mortality due to poor medical facilities.
4. Illiteracy: High dropout rates as children work to supplement income; schools often inaccessible or teach in non-tribal languages.
5. Bonded Labor: Persists despite legal bans, driven by poverty and lack of stable income.
6. Shifting Cultivation: Causes deforestation and soil erosion (e.g., Jhum in North-East, Podu in Central India).

Tribal Development Efforts

• Panchsheel Philosophy (Jawaharlal Nehru):
  1. Develop along tribal genius, avoiding imposition.
  2. Protect land and forest rights.
  3. Train tribals for administration/development.
  4. Avoid over-administration; work with tribal institutions.
  5. Judge success by quality of life, not statistics.
• Government Programs:
  • Hostels for tribal students
  • Educational complexes for women in low-literacy areas
  • Grants-in-aid to tribal cooperatives
  • Village grain banks
  • Post-matric scholarships, overseas scholarships, book banks
  • Tribal Advisory Council
  • Point 11(b) of 20-point Programme

2.2 Rural Community in India

Definitions

• A.W. Green: A rural community is a cluster of people in a narrow territorial radius sharing a common way of life.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica: A rural society has a low inhabitant-to-land ratio, with economic activities focused on food, fibers, and raw materials.
• Census of India (2011): A rural community has ~5000 people, dependent on agriculture/allied occupations, residing in a geographic area with shared socio-economic/cultural activities.

Context

• Population: 68.84% of India’s population (2011 Census) lives in ~6.4 lakh villages.
• Historical Decline: Village autonomy declined during British rule due to exposure to external lifestyles.
• Sociological Studies: Focused on village solidarity, settlement patterns, class structure, land reforms, and agrarian unrest.

Characteristics of Rural Communities

1. Community Living: Villages meet residents’ needs, fostering togetherness influenced by local demands.
2. Small Size: Typically ~5000 people, with low population density.
3. Dominance of Agriculture: Primary occupation, contributing ~40% of national income; linked to crafts like pottery, carpentry.
4. Primary Relations: Informal, personal relationships; community spirit prioritizes collective interests.
5. Social Homogeneity: Similarities in behavior, dress, and customs; mutual cooperation evident, though political interference disrupts cohesion.
6. Significance of Family: Joint families historically significant, now diminishing; collective decision-making persists (familism).
7. Status of Women: Patriarchal norms enforce subservient roles; “Pativrata” ideal glorifies conjugal fidelity.
8. Religiosity: Deep faith in religion; villages worship Gramdevata and family deities, celebrating annual festivals.
9. Dominance of Caste System: Hierarchical, based on purity/pollution; balutedari system involves interdependence among castes.

Panchayati Raj

• Origin: Balwantrai Mehta Committee (1950s) institutionalized a three-tier system:
  • Zilla Parishad: District level
  • Panchayat Samiti: Block level
  • Gram Panchayat: Village level
• Purpose: Promote rural reconstruction and development, shifting from traditional justice administration by village elders.

Problems of Rural Communities

1. Poverty: Affects small/marginal farmers, laborers, and artisans; grim economic conditions persist.
2. Illiteracy: High rates due to inadequate facilities, clashing school hours with work, and parental reluctance (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan aims to address this).
3. Traditionalism, Conservatism, Superstitions: Resistance to change due to habit, fear, and fatalistic attitudes.
4. Caste Influence: Entrenched in social interactions, though cooperation occurs during festivals.
5. Farmers’ Suicides: Driven by financial debt; limited impact of economic reforms in agriculture.
6. Lower Status of Women: Patriarchal values lead to discrimination and gender stereotyping.
7. Family Disputes: Land division disputes fragment holdings, making cultivation uneconomical.

Efforts for Rural Development

• Historical Initiatives:
  • Community Development Programme (CDP, 1952): Aimed at all-round village development through community participation.
  • Panchayati Raj (1957): Established local self-governance.
  • Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP, 1979): Replaced CDP, focusing on economic upliftment.
• Recent Schemes:
  • Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (road connectivity)
  • Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS, job guarantee)
  • Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (universal education)
  • Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin, housing)
  • Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (self-employment)
  • Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (model villages)
• Trends of Rural Change (A.R. Desai):
  1. Shift from subsistence to market economy.
  2. Adoption of modern technology.
  3. Abolition of zamindari system.
  4. Emergence of urban/national-linked institutions.
• Rural-Urban Continuum: Continuous interaction due to interdependence (e.g., rural agriculture supports urban food needs; urban technology aids rural production), weakening caste systems and shifting to cash markets.

2.3 Urban Community in India

Definitions

• Max Weber: Urban community has a fortification, market, law code/court, urban citizenry association, and political autonomy.
• Henri Pirenne: Defined by a bourgeoisie (middle class) dependent on trade and a communal organization freeing cities from feudal/religious control.
• Merriam-Webster: A society of modern industrial civilization, heterogeneous, secular, and individualized, contrasting with folk societies.
• Louis Wirth: A large, dense, permanent settlement of heterogeneous individuals.

Context

• Population: 31.16% of India’s population (2011 Census) lives in urban areas.
• Urbanization: Driven by industrial development, creating towns, cities, and metros with distinct lifestyles.
• Sociological Studies: Early sociologists (Tonnies, Durkheim, Simmel, Park, Wirth) analyzed urbanism as a way of life.

Characteristics of Urban Communities

1. Heterogeneity: Diverse groups (class, caste, religion, language) coexist, fostering cosmopolitanism but also tensions.
2. High Population Density: Overcrowding in cities (e.g., Mumbai’s 1/6 acre open space per 1000 people vs. 4-acre standard).
3. Different Occupations: Non-agricultural, including manufacturing, trade, services, and governance.
4. Large-Scale Social Mobility: Achieved status (education, merit) overshadows ascribed status, reducing caste barriers.
5. Secondary Relations: Formal, impersonal interactions; leisure spent in multiplexes, malls, or clubs.
6. Market-Based Economy: Profit-driven, with e-marketing and e-business prominence.
7. Advanced Infrastructure: Metrorail, airports, malls, though often insufficient for demand.
8. Nuclear Families: Individualism increases nuclear families; family stability declines.
9. Class Consciousness: Progressive, rights-aware populace participates in movements.
10. Formal Social Control: Laws, police, courts regulate behavior; traditional authority (elders, religious leaders) diminishes.
11. Complex Division of Labor: Specialized roles (e.g., medical specialties like gynaecology, radiology) create interdependence.

Major Urban Problems

1. Urban Sprawl: Expansion consumes agricultural land, straining economic bases.
2. Overcrowding: High population in limited spaces (e.g., Mumbai, Delhi).
3. Housing and Slums: 50% of Mumbai’s population in slums; rehabilitation efforts lag.
4. Unemployment: 15-25% rate, especially among educated youth in megacities.
5. Beggary: Driven by poverty, lack of skills, or organized gangs; criminalized in Mumbai (Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959).
6. Transport: Traffic congestion due to population and commercial vehicles.
7. Water Shortage: Insufficient supply (e.g., Mumbai sources water from Thane/Palghar, causing regional hardship).
8. Sewerage Problems: Inadequate facilities pollute rivers/seas (e.g., Delhi’s Yamuna, Mumbai’s sea).
9. Trash Disposal: Overflowing landfills emit leachate, spreading diseases (e.g., malaria, dengue).
10. Urban Crime: Includes violent crimes (rape, murder), cyber-crime, and white-collar crime, often protected by elites.

Efforts for Urban Development

• National Commission on Urbanisation (1988):
  • Proposed spatial economic development, balanced population distribution, growth centers, counter-magnets, and optimal service provision.
• Programs:
  • Urban Basic Services for the Poor (UBSP)
  • Environmental Improvement of Urban Slums (EIUS)
  • Integrated Development of Small and Medium Towns (IDSMT)
  • Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO)
  • Mega Cities Project
  • Integrated Urban Poverty Eradication Programme (IUPEP)
• Recent Initiatives:
  • Smart Cities Mission
  • Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)
  • Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban)
  • Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY)
  • Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission
  • Swachh Bharat Mission
• Challenges: Resource shortages limit program effectiveness; urban sector receives only 3-4% of plan outlay.